


Limitless

by Tezca, Yvesriba



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: 1992 Movie Script Crowley (Good Omens), 1992 Movie Script Tina, Alternate Universe, Angel Anathema Device, Book Omens, Demon Newt Pulsifer, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Multiverse, No way was I not gonna do a scene based on that in story with world hopping shenanigans, Rampa is the French version of Crowley's name, Sex in the Bentley (Good Omens), The book boys appearances in each flashback, Tina's full name is Constantine in here, are based on different covers of Good Omens, minor Immortal/Mortal, minor/background Hastur/Ligur, with the exception of Script Crowley and Constantine from the aborted script
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:02:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25358905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tezca/pseuds/Tezca, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yvesriba/pseuds/Yvesriba
Summary: Crowley has never known a world with Aziraphale. Where he's from, his counterpart was the angel Anathema. 6000 years of friendship eventually lead to them traveling between worlds until they discover one where there has never been a Crowley. But, there is an Aziraphale. They met and fall in love and with Aziraphale, Crowley finds the happiness he's always sought.A tale told in Crowley's stories to Aziraphale and flashbacks.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Hastur/Ligur
Comments: 35
Kudos: 20
Collections: Good Omens Mini Bang





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm so excited to finally start the fic I wrote for the Do It With Style minibang! I worked together Yvesriba who created several different amazing art!

“Hey angel, sorry I’m late,” Crowley apologized as he sat into his place across the table. He might’ve only been several minutes late, but this was his first boyfriend in his long existence. He’d really hate to mess it up, even something he knew the angel in front of him wouldn’t mind and even understood.

Aziraphale had lit up and diverted his attention fully onto the demon from the menu where he scrutinized for the last ten minutes. So many scrumptious looking dishes, how can anyone choose what to eat in a short amount of time.

Crowley continued, only mildly embarrassed but noticeably blushed nonetheless, “I forgot the Ritz was on another street in this universe.”

Aziraphale smiled and placed a hand over the demon’s arm to reassure him, his face now an expression of sympathy, “Oh that’s quite alright Crowley. It must be all so terribly confusing for you and your friend. All those worlds and you have to keep track of all sorts of differences.” Aziraphale paused as he pondered for a second, he stared off into the distance before he slightly shook his head, “I can’t imagine having to mentally compartmentalize all the grand and minute details without having to write it down.”

“Actually we did that right off the bat. Anathema’s idea even,” Crowley leaned back on his chair with one arm over the back. The waiter by now had come up to their table to get their drinks. 

Even if this wasn’t the first date he’d been on with the angel - _his angel, heh still so surreal to finally feel what true happiness felt like_ \- it still felt like one. Not even all the versions of the Almighty in the infinite multiverse would ever comprehend how good it felt to have that achingly deep loneliness lifted from his soul. To be liberated from the eons long void that generated a persisted sense of melancholic longing that numbed the world around him.

Not that he wasn’t happy having Anathema as a friend, far from it and it was damn nice to have another immortal to go through eternity on Earth. She enjoyed his company around her as much as he enjoyed her company. But he wanted something more. For as almost as long as he had existed - or ever since he sussed out what it was that painfully tugged his heart - there was an inexplicable ache that longed for something more than friends. Someone to make a deep connection too and make passionate love with. The kind of love you know won’t be a one time thing with.

(And yes he and Anathema had experimented. Wasn’t much of one, just a light kiss and another one for good measure. It was rather spur of the moment on both of their parts during one of his moodier moments back in Rome. And they both mutually decided they were better as friends.)

“Oh that is quite smart to do it first thing instead of years later,” Aziraphale commented as Crowley took out his phone from his jacket.

Crowley kept his gaze on the phone to unlock it and bring up the notes app, “Also helped us to keep track of what world we went to already. Be bloody annoying to go to some damn universe we’ve already been before.” He looked up and held the phone over to Aziraphale with the screen towards him.

(The phone was more advanced compared to the ones in this particular world. He and Anathema had once landed in a world about 500 years into the future and Crowley nicked a couple for him and Anathema. Being an angel, Anathema initially scolded him for the act of stealing, but being as bad of an angel as she is, she eventually took it. Wasn’t even a full day before she caved in. And Crowley didn’t have to do any real temptations either, not that he wanted to mind you. Anathema just decided it would be more practical to accept the gift. That was World #63 by the way, just ten steps to the left of the one they originated from.)

“This is a list of the worlds we went through,” Crowley said as Aziraphale grabbed the phone from him to take a closer look, “This is the 452th one we’ve been to and the last one I should add,” Crowley gazed at him knowingly with a fond smile full of love as he propped up his chin with one of his hands. 

The angel across from him blushed, and a contented pleasantness filled the air between them. Crowley never really felt anything like this before in his entire life. This desire to lovingly lavish his object of affection with words, as well as the usual gifts and anything the angel desired of course. He found he didn’t care if he showed an embarrassing amount of sentimentality for a demon. Not after the amount of time he was in a world that only very rarely saw the sunlight. And even then it was partly cloudy.

And damn him to the deepest circle of all the Hells out there and his eternal tormentor be Hastur if he ever fucked this up.

(Also Crowley would also like to gratefully thank Someone for Anathema’s presence in his life. And while Anathema didn’t yearn for a relationship as much as he did, she would say the same vice versa.)

There was a silent gasp from Aziraphale before he spoke, “Oh my lord...you have been to 451 other worlds?!” He exclaimed as he leaned forward, as if Crowley just scandalized the poor thing and he was about to reprimand him. His eyes widened in both shock and wonder, “How long have you and Anathema been traveling?”

Crowley made some non-committal noise as he tried to figure that out. He couldn’t, everything just became a blur after the 20th world, “I honestly don’t know but best guess uh...err approximately 2,000 years.”

Aziraphale widened his eyes in shock, bewilderment flashed across his eyes as his face contorted to that of empathy, “You spent 2,000 years looking for someone like me?”

Crowley hesitated for just a scant moment but nodded with muted awkwardness aside from an indecipherable noise or two. He heard it was good, to be honest in a relationship and since it took him so needlessly long to find someone to bring eternal summer, well he hated to mess up a good thing. He’d rather not wait another 8,000 years total before the Universe gave him another break should Aziraphale decide this was too much for him. He stammered, “Uhh, err...sounds a bit creepy now but...ngk yes.”

“I can assure it's not, its…” Aziraphale paused than reconsidered, “Well I-I um, don’t actually know, can see how it would but...I only know about as much as you do regarding relationships but in any case,” He was sure to quickly reassure the demon as he took his hands in his, “If you really were creepy then I really don’t think we would’ve dated for as long as we have. You’re nothing of the sort.”

Crowley smiled, a comfortable silence filled the close space between them as he relaxed into his seat. 

Meanwhile, as Aziraphale scrolled, he noticed there was a short comment that followed the number. A good portion of them had the word ‘Boring’ or ‘Dull’ after them. The rest had some variation of what amounted to ‘Not coming here ever again’. Usually in a more crude way. For example, one of them was listed as ‘Rather spend half an eternity having my ears bleed and eviscerate by celestial harmonies then come here again’ and another as ‘World full of bloody wankers, do not recommend’. Only a few - about ten in total - had a unique description of their own. 

After a half a minute - during which the drinks were brought to their table - Aziraphale looked up at Crowley with an inquisitive expression on his face.

“I hope you don’t mind if I ask, I’m just, err...rather curious to know about some of the worlds you visited,” He admitted with slight hesitation. He wasn’t sure if Crowley wanted to talk about it or not but damn just the concept of alternate universes was much too enticing to not ask about it. But he was completely expecting the possibility that he didn’t want to talk about it.

Crowley had grabbed his drink and leaned back against his chair, “Sure, go ahead. Pick any random one but it’s not guaranteed I’d have a comment about it. After a certain point, all those worlds just kinda blended together.”

Aziraphale nodded, “I do suppose that would make sense. How about we start off with your original world. Did you and Anathema prevent Armageddon?”

Crowley smiled proudly, “Yep we did. By the day everything came together to a bloody head at that airbase, we both knew we wanted to hightail it as soon as possible afterwards. She got bored and wanted to see other versions of Earth out there whereas I didn’t want to live in a world where I was truly, truly alone living among humans. But we also wanted to save the-err-our Earth first, wouldn’t be fair otherwise. Everyone lives, we leave, and Heaven and Hell don’t have to worry about us two traitors. Win-win if you ask me.”

“That’s rather good to hear, but aren’t you worried they may still try and come after you? I mean surely they would be able to traverse different dimensions if you both were able too.”

Crowley shook his head, “Nah. As long as we’re not there we’re not their problem.”

“Oh,” Aziraphale eyes darted to the table for a split second then focused on Crowley. He looked unsure, “I honestly don’t know if Heaven here would’ve done the same thing or not. Hell probably wouldn't even notice if I may hazard a guess. Newt not exactly the most...well known demon.”

Crowley shrugged, there was no real way for him to tell since really the most experience he had with Heaven and Hell were from his homeworld. He can’t exactly say a definitive answer here since he has only been in this world for only two years so far at this point. Wouldn’t feel right, “Can’t say for certain but I can say I am sure of the one main constant I came to realize.”

“And what’s that?” Aziraphale leaned a little closer, voice a little more curious to hear the answer.

“Gabriel a bloody straight up wanker no matter what universe,” Crowley declared grandiosely. Truth be told going by the concept of there being infinite worlds just based on the choices one makes, there was an equal 99.9 percent chance there was a world where Gabriel wasn’t a wanker. And Crowley did know this. But he always had a flair for the dramatic. 

He paused to let it sink in before he continued. His voice raised to a higher pitch, “Did you know there is a bloody universe where my counterpart never Fell, never became a demon but was still kicked out of Heaven for asking too many questions? Fucking bullshit...that’s world number 89 in case you’re wondering,” He added as he gestured at the phone.

“Oh my!...Really?” Aziraphale exclaimed after he glanced down at the list. 

____________________________

_Anathema facepalmed, then she removed her hand and rolled her eyes towards the clear blue sky as she crossed her arms against her chest. She was just about to open the portal for them to leave when Crowley told her to hang on a sec. He turned around, head tilted up, fists clenched and he started to lay it on thick in the direction of whatever unfortunate version of Heaven this world was saddled with._

_(They were in a park somewhere in London. Though this London was noticeably smaller in size compared to the versions they were used to. It was more of a village here which was interesting in and itself.)_

_Just how many times was Crowley going to take the chance to berate and rip apart other counterparts of the Archangels and the Almighty? Not that she was against it. She would, in fact, join him if not for the reasonable worry that one of them would take offence and suddenly come down to smite him several ways. That or God Herself/Himself coming out to finish him._

_Plus it started to get old in a way. Crowley had done this on and off throughout their travels. Still, all the same, she can’t blame him really._

_“You lot are always unjustly unfair aren’t you?! No matter what fucking dimension it’s always the same isn’t it? Always hating questions, always casting out those for the simple crime of wanting to know the fucking reason behind something. What is so fucking wrong about curiosity huh?! What is so fucking sinful and horrible about knowledge! Pustulent bastards all of you!” Crowley ranted as he jabbed a finger up at the atmosphere._

_Before he could continue, Crowley suddenly felt a grip on his arm. He immediately turned around and looked down at Anathema. She had an exasperated harden face with an expression that in no doubt conveyed the sentence ‘I’m with you but shut the fuck up already unless you want us to be barbequed to a crisp.’_

_“Crowley, let’s just get out of here,” Anathema cautiously whispered, her voice sharp but calm. She wasn’t sure if Crowley caught the attention of someone Upstairs or not already but she really didn’t want to make the assumption that nobody was listening to them whenever Crowley spews blasphemy to the firmament above._

_In their own world sure she wouldn’t be so tensed up and worried that Divine Retribution would rain upon them. But they aren’t in Kansas anymore. Every world they travelled since the first one had been different in some way or another. Even if it was a very, very subtle difference, there was always the need to be just that more alert because there were more ramifications they would have to face as supernatural beings._

_They really shouldn’t incur the wrath of the Almighty and the entire Heavenly Host if they can help it._

_“And what are the chances of that Nat? In every damn version of Earth that we’ve been too they never had the self-awareness to bloody realize they are nothing more than righteous hypocritical tossers,” Crowley turned his head back up to the sky ready to yell as if it was going out of style. The only creatures as if right now that were exposed to his rant were some of the birds flying above, blissfully on their merry way, unaware of the words he weaved together in an aggressive way._

_“You hear me?! You’re nothing more than a bunch of cowards!”_

_Anathema worriedly looked up as if something was about to happen. Clouds out of thin air, a thunderstorm not too far behind, but nothing out of the ordinary appeared. Just a wide expanse of unchanged blue with the afternoon sun high up in the sky._

_Still, they really should leave. They should’ve left five minutes ago. Anathema pulled her hand away from his arm as she looked back at him, her arms resumed the same position as she had them just prior._

_“The same amount as the chance they will come down if you keep provoking them. Listen, in case you’ve forgotten we’re in a different universe Crowley,” Anathema said, her voice calm that while there wasn’t a lot of heat, it was just enough to demand the demon’s full unbridled attention. The tone was also softened by the weary, worried look in her deep brown eyes._

_There was a momentary pause as Anathema's gaze darted to the ground. She faced him a second later as she quietly admitted, “And I really don’t want to world hop all by myself.”_

_Not that she can’t handle herself but being an interdimensional nomad was much more enjoyable with someone like Crowley._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you y'all for all the comments, its always so nice to see them!

The first course had arrived by now and the atmosphere between them was still just as lively and animated as Crowley recalled amusing anecdotes and other tales about the different places on the list. Aziraphale was happily digging into his steak, listening just as attentively. Crowley’s stories had completely enthralled him.

“....and-and-and furthermore...how in the blessed nine circles of Hell was I supposed to know that your counterpart was a delusional demon who genuinely thought he was still an angel?”

Aziraphale swallowed and wiped his mouth before he spoke, “Well err...to be fair my dear, perhaps you should’ve done more intel beforehand to make sure it was even worth the trouble of approaching me-err-a version of me.”

Crowley took a generous swig of his wine before he set it back down on the table, “Yeah in hindsight I should’ve….nothing like having an angelic version of myself hellbent on smiting my arse to drill that in.” He remarked in a rueful manner. There was a pause to take another drink of his wine before he added defensively, “And I didn't even mean to make things worse.”

Aziraphale flashed him a soft, reassuring smile as he put his hand over Crowley’s free hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, “I believe you.”

______________

_They were in another world, it looked pretty much the same as the last dozens or so worlds. Was this Universe #324 or #308? He’ll have to look at the list, but he didn’t have the energy to care to do so right now. All he wanted to do was get drunk before passing out for another long nap of his. Preferably for two or three days, he didn’t really want to pass out for a whole century this time. But after the adventure they just had, his body partly cried out for him to give in to the temptation of sleeping for a hundred years._

_He paced around in a small circle in the back room of a bookshop that long since became familiar to him overall. Especially the cosy, warm vibe that permeated every inch of the place._

_“Just how many times do we end up saving the world?” He wasn’t truly annoyed as one may think here but by this point, there was no way he wasn’t gonna hold back on the question. This was about the fifteenth consecutive time._

_And at the end of the day, he didn’t mind helping the different Aziraphales and Crowleys stick it to their Head Offices. It wasn’t in his nature to let a world out there go to shit just because he grew tired of the same old overall actions to prevent the destruction of Earth. Sure the minor details may be different but not the major points, like the Ring of Fire or a bookshop fire. No matter what though, there will always be that sense of satisfaction that he and Anathema prevented yet another Earth from being a bloody battleground just to see which war-obsessed side was best._

_“Not that I’m..err I’ll happily help prevent Armageddon,” Crowley clarified as he stopped and faced Anathema. His voice now a little awkward as he tried to think of the right words, “It’s just….it’s been getting a little too repetitive in a way I suppose. We go in, the same grand old motions happen and 99.9 percent of the time we successfully prevent a global scale shitshow.”_

_Anathema was currently sitting on the sofa next to a still asleep Aziraphale, “Hmm, granted what we stopped was an attempt to overthrow Heaven. Your counterpart said there never were any plans for an Apocalypse remember?”_

_Crowley wracked his brain then became slightly embarrassed. It was getting harder and harder to keep track of events specific to one universe. Sure it was easy enough for the first few but then after a certain point, it all becomes an indistinguishable blur with nothing different enough to make an imprint on his mind. Except for a rare few._

_Like this world for instance, this dimension stood out for the simple fact that this version of Aziraphale was more than just an angel._

_He was a God._

_A God compressed into a human corporation who’d long ago been banished to an empty Universe by his Godly family on trumped-up charges billions and billions of years ago. To the little vindictive part of Crowley, it was pure satisfaction to learn that Aziraphale’s Creation was the only one that hadn't been destroyed completely or taken over in one way or another. No one can say the same as the other members of his family._

_(This was the second time so far where contrary to all the others, the Earth was created 4.5 billion years prior to their arrival. It was also with this fact, that the Crowley this version of Aziraphale knew is much, much, much, older than the traveling Crowley. About 4.6 billion)_

_Said God finally stirred awake. He blinked and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before he slowly sat up, “I do believe I now see the appeal of a good nap,” Aziraphale commented then looked more apologetic and timid than how’d one think a God should be, like he was often worried he offend someone in some small way, “Oh I hope I wasn’t asleep for too long. I hate to be a bad host.”_

_Crowley dismissed it with a wave, “Nah it was only twenty minutes. ‘Least you had a better excuse than me. I took a century-long nap once.”_

_Aziraphale curiously perked up, his voice only filled with just the barest hint of shock, “Oh? Whatever for? That seems rather dreadfully long to me.”_

_Crowley shrugged casually, “Boredom. Plus Anathema was going around the world hunting down any sort of occult-related books.”_

_“Oh I see, my Crowley had his moments of boredom as well,” Aziraphale explained, he paused in thought before he opened his mouth to share a sudden memory with the two travelers, “It’s usually easy to tell with him, there have been more than one occasion when I caught him glueing coins onto the sidewalk. And sometimes I only catch him afterwards when he’s merrily watching passersby try and pick it up.”_

_Crowley burst out with a casual laugh and a big smile, “I’ve done that before. He’s me alright,” He commented as he let out a last few giggles. Anathema had laughed along with him and the laughter quickly faded into the easygoing, friendly vibe that filled the backroom, “I even did that a couple of times in other ‘verses with my counterpart there.”_

_Aziraphale giggled as he shook his head lightly and teased, no real scolding behind it, “Oh dear, what is a version of me going to do with any one of you.”_

_Crowley comically shrugged just before the door to the backroom opened up and Crowley’s counterpart in this world walked. In one of his hands, there was a bag full of pastries and other assorted sweets, “Sorry, there was a bit of a line at the bakery,” This different Crowley said._

_(For the sake of lessening any confusion, both Godly Aziraphale and his Crowley took to calling the traveller Crowley ‘AJ’.)_

_“That’s quite alright my dear.”_

_Aziraphale smiled fondly as the other Crowley set the bag down and began to take the contents out. Just watching this scene unfold had reignited and hardened his resolve to not give up with his long term mission. He was bone-deep weary and exhausted of being saddled with this life long void that dwelled in his demonic soul. His heart ached with desire to one day be the one to buy his beloved his favorite treat._

_Other Crowley smiled before he handed a pastry over to Anathema, “They didn’t have a blueberry scone so I got a strawberry one.”_

_Anathema sincerely smiled, nothing like any kinda conflict to work up an appetite. Especially when it involved a rogue antagonistic angel, espionage, and very dire consequences had they all failed._

_“Thanks.”_

_“AJ, are you and Anathema planning on staying any longer? You both are most welcomed to settle here even if that is what you wish.” Aziraphale asked after he’d taken a bite of his scone. Only mild nerves filtered through his voice. Kinda funny that even as a God, Aziraphale was still….very much Aziraphale. A bundle of softness and sweetness who does his utmost hardest to be the most polite English gentleman on the planet. The epitome of kindness._

_(Unless, of course, you got on his bad side. Then you would rightfully taste the bastard cream filling.)_

_“Admittedly it's very tempting with the setup you got here,” Crowley chuckled softly before it turned into a friendly, but apologetic smile, “I mean you’re...uhh way more than I can say for any other versions of the Almighty. But I’m afraid me and Anathema are moving onto the next universe.”_

_Aziraphale can only give a nod in understanding before he stood up with a cordial smile, “In that case you both are allowed to come back for a visit whenever you wish,” He walked over to the desk to grab a piece of paper and an old fashioned fountain pen, “Let me just give you the address dear boy.”_

_“Alright, thanks,” Crowley felt pleasantly happy, he always did when an Aziraphale or a Crowley - or both - offered them to come back to visit. Normally it would be a nice offer that would ultimately go untaken, but this time there was something different about it. Not like all the other offers from other places weren’t sincere. They most definitely were, no doubt about it._

_But there was just something inexplicably different this time and Crowley didn’t want to get a headache right now if he thought on it too long. He just knew how...odd it was to suddenly be interested in the prospect of visiting whereas before in other worlds he passed over the offers without a care. All he knew was that it would’ve just doubled down on the seemingly unattainable cure to the unwanted lonesomeness that fate thrusted upon him._

_Maybe it was because in the short time he and Anathema had been there, there were no signs of any Apocalypse in the works. No great big Kraken, no Antichrist, no hellhounds of any sort. And when he had told Aziraphale about his and Anathema’s travels thus far, he had appeared to be more offended than not at all the other versions of God wanting to destroy the world._

_‘It’s as if they were colluding with my siblings,’ Aziraphale had said amidst the semi-rant he'd gone off on._

_Ah well, he’s got all the time to fully realize why he found himself actually making a mental note to take up on his offer. Even if it was a century or two down the line. What is time to an immortal? Unless, and here’s a sudden thought that unsettled him, this world was destroyed in the meantime by an outside force._

_(His next mental note was to add an addendum to the first one to visit sooner rather than later. But really, the demon needed not to worry, this Godly Aziraphale looked like he could and would do anything to protect his Creation.)_

_“Here you are my dear,” Aziraphale said a moment later as he held out the paper in front of him. Crowley took the paper and immediately read what was written. Apparently this world was almost a thousand steps to the right of his and Anathema’s homeworld. Huh, who knew?_

__

_Aziraphale continued, he pointed to a few other addresses underneath the top one. There were a few total not counting the first listed, “Those are the universes I believe you should avoid. They belong to the rest of my family.”_

_Crowley nodded as he put it in his pocket, “Duly noted. Thanks”_


	3. Chapter 3

“So somewhere out there is a dimension where we’re nary but characters in a novel?” Aziraphale sounded very much intrigued by this. It was almost enough to make him forget about the delicious, decadent devil’s food cake that was just placed in front of him. Almost.

Crowley nodded as he leaned forward a bit, a giddy smile on his face. He would never not stop being utterly fascinated by this. Even if the idea of reading a fictionalized account of the events he lived through was weird in a surreal sort of way. But that said, he went and bought two copies of the book for him and Anathema before they left that particular world. They were that curious.

“Yep.”

“Must be awfully strange then seeing events you have lived through in such a...err..fictionalized manner,” Aziraphale commented before he took a bite. He smiled and melted as the pleasant sweet taste washed over his taste buds.

“Uhh...well-ngh-er...I guess it surprisingly didn’t hit too close to home for us weirdly enough because Anathema wasn’t the main angel character. You were. She was a human in the book and there was a different enough dynamic between me and you-err-the novel versions of me and you than me and Anathema,” Crowley explained. 

“Interesting,” Aziraphale's voice was full of awe as he leaned a bit forward with full attentiveness.

Crowley smiled, he can spend an hour or two talking about the novel. Yes despite what one may think, he fell in love with the plot. Yes he had opinions. Yes it was all still so surreal. Yes it may have also helped him to get a sense of what was missing from his life, however creepy that sounded.

“Very much so. While there were some startling similarities, there were enough differences to not take me out completely.”

“Like what?”

“Well for one thing, the main setting is England right. Where I came from, everything went to shit at Death Valley in California. And Gabriel only had one tiny, tiny little mention...nobody had to deal with them in the book.” A beat of silence passed before Crowley scoffed, “Lucky bastards.”

_______________

_It was pretty nice out. Sunny day, only partly cloudy. One of the rare nice days this time of year in England. Well in general but just from a quick observation, the weather was similar to the one in their homeworld. And it was made all the more nicer with the knowledge that they didn’t have to worry about stopping any huge catastrophe. They were told Armageddon took place about 30 years ago so both Crowley and Anathema internally sighed a breath of relief. A vacation had finally been granted to them._

_Maybe they’ll stay a year, a gap year if you will but it wasn’t really set in stone. The duration of their stay in any one universe just depended on what they were feeling. But this one was rare, they badly needed a break from any supernatural chaos so they decided at least on a month's stay here at the minimum._

_And of course it was only determined after they’ve done their research to make sure things were relatively normal. They didn’t want to run the risk of getting themselves killed after all. All it took was one visit to an utter shitshow of a world ruled by a malevolent version of him and Aziraphale for them to decide never again._

_Crowley still visibly shudders at the mere memory of it._

__

_(Incidentally it was also where they ended up unwillingly stuck far longer than they had planned. About several centuries longer but that’s another story for another day.)_

_“...you want to know what his demon name was? You wanna know what his demon name was-” Crowley asked incredulously as he gripped the seat in front of him. He sat on the edge of his seat behind Aziraphale and leaned forward as the Bentley zoomed towards a certain fancy restaurant in London from South Downs. Anathema leaned against the back seat half attentive, half distracted by researching the world more on her phone._

_Crowley continued, “-It’s the same as your name only its bloody spelled with f-e-l-l at the end instead of p-h-a-l-e.”_

_“You can’t be serious?” Aziraphale turned his head around to face Crowley, a disbelieving shocked expression was written all over his face._

_“He has the creativeness of a gnat,” The demon - known inexplicably in this world as Rampa deadpanned as he glanced over at Crowley for a moment before back to the road ahead._

_(Another thing that Crowley and Anathema both noted right off the bat was that Rampa had the stereotypical devil horns on the sides of his head and Aziraphale had a - albeit shorter - hairstyle and beard not too unlike the main protagonist in The Big Lebowski.)_

_“That’s what I thought! And I even said as much….which was admittedly not one of my brighter moments.” He half stammered out. He certainly still regretted that move, even after two dozen worlds and three centuries later._

__

_Aziraphale casually laughed as he twirled back around to scribble the name in his journal. Crowley had been helping him brainstorm ideas for a plot of a novel he wanted to write for the past thirty minutes._

_“Did that mean you had an angelic version?” Aziraphale decided to shift his body so his side leaned against the seat. He was still enraptured in Crowley’s otherworldly travels._

_“Err not in that universe no, they were both demons. Azirafell was ranked higher though.”_

_“Really? Was he Satan?” Aziraphale asked. His eyes brimmed with genuine curiosity._

_“What?” Crowley felt his eyes widened at the sudden jump to that - semi - surprising theory. A second passed before he let out a pained groan as his mind jumped immediately to conjure up that unwanted image, “No..no he wasn’t thank Someone,” He muttered with a roll of his eyes, “But Prince of Hell wasn’t anything better.”_

_“Oh,” Aziraphale said wide eyed as he took a note of it down._

_Crowley continued, “After I ‘mistakenly’ make that joke about his name he threatened to have me chained me down underneath the pool of sulphur for eternity.”_

_Rampa tightened his grip on the wheel as he tensed up, “Blessed Satan that sounds like Hell to me.”_

_“Me and Nat hightailed it after that.”_

_“Smart move.”_

_A few moments of silence passed as the surroundings still went past them in a high speed blur. Enough that the trees outside almost became indistinguishable from one another. As it should when one is inside a Bentley driven by a speed maniac._

_Aziraphale eventually looked up to face Crowley, another question at the ready. His voice jostled Crowley’s attention from the scenery passing them outside, “What was the most bizarre variant of yourself that you’ve met?”_

_“Most bizarre...well, err, they were quite a few that I can slap that label on,” Crowley explained as he gave it a thought. After a few seconds his eye lit up, “Oh I’ve got one, there is a universe where my counterpart - and I shit you not - looked like a little green gremlin.”_

__

_The two beings upfront laughed and Anathema took this moment to interject with a comment of her own, “He wasn’t exactly little, he was Crowley’s height. But yes it was truly a sight to see at first.” Anathema giggled at the memory._

_(All that said though, the green skinned version of Crowley was a nice guy. Adorable even, which Anathema had made a comment or two reminding her of the similarity with her friend. Crowley denied it of course but never once had there been a version of Aziraphale (or Anathema) that had bought his claims.)_

_“Was there anything else interesting about that world?” Aziraphale asked once he finished and collected himself._

_“Erm..no not really. It was quite boring actually. Transcendentally boring.” Crowley answered._

_Anathema rolled her eyes and shook her head fondly before she faced the angel in front. She wanted to set the record straight, “He’s just saying that cause his favorite tv show didn’t exist.”_

_“How can the Golden Girls not bloody exist? Like at all!” Crowley suddenly burst out as he threw his hands up, on the verge of a fanboy induced rant, “In any of the universes we’ve gone too it was usually in one form of media or another but in that universe, that one random little speck of a world it had never ever been a show, or-or a movie or a series of novels even. It literally did not exist.” Crowley leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms._

_“I’ll tell you what I thought was...interesting about that specific dimension,” Anathema leaned forward as she pushed her glasses up to situate them better on her nose. She fully caught Aziraphale’s attention now, “We ended up stopping a plot to usurp several nearby universes.”_

_Aziraphale leaned over the top of the front seat a little, his blue eyes big with interest and rapt attention, “Oh my lord, that’s...how would’ve that even work? Would’ve there been one main universe with all the others connected through some kind of portal?”_

_Anathema nodded, “Yeah pretty much. The Metatron would’ve put each of the Archangels in charge of the other worlds. They were the ones we were going up against.”_

_“And where was the Almighty in all of that?”_

_“Probably up and abandoned them,” Rampa deadpanned as he rounded a curb._

_“Actually you’ll be damn well surprised,” Crowley chimed in as he sat up straight, “In this case it turned out the Metatron and Michael staged a coup. They put Him in a deep sleep in a pocket universe.”_

_Aziraphale quickly turned back around, presumably to write down ideas in whatever burst of inspiration he had._

_Crowley continued, “Of course we had to fight the main instigators first before we were able to get to Him. After that it was relatively smooth sailing from there.”_

_(Well if one counted a convoluted maze through an elaborate labyrinth relatively smooth sailing.)_


	4. Chapter 4

They were in St. James Park, they had decided to come here after they were finished at the Ritz. They were currently sitting in their unofficial designated bench among the various people out and about on a nice enough summer day. Aziraphale fed the ducks and while Crowley slouched and looked around at the mundane but pleasant scene around them.

“Crowley, if you don’t mind me asking,” Crowley turned around to face him, an expression that encouraged Aziraphale to continue after he paused due to a bit of hesitation, “You said I don’t exist in your homeworld so that stands to reason my bookshop isn’t at its location either. I’m curious, was there anything there in that location? Another store?”

“Not too sure anymore angel,” Crowley sighs. Once upon a time he could probably tell you what resided in what should’ve been the bookshop in his world. But by now it's gotten harder to suss out which little detail belongs to what world. They just get fuzzier and fuzzier, next thing you know it’s not as vivid in your mind and everything might as well be a muddied up mess behind a metaphorical opaque window, “I think it was a cafe last time we were in that area. Course that was before Armeggedon happened.”

“Oh right, well that sounds rather lovely.” Aziraphale gave a bit of a wiggle as he smiled at Crowley, “I know a good cafe that has the most delicious cocoa in all of London.” 

“Coffee and alcohol are more my speed angel.”

“Yes, I would rather think I got that by now after knowing you for three years,” Aziraphale laughed lightly before it trailed off into a peaceful, contemplative smile, “It sounds rather strange but it feels like everything right with the world now that you here. I mean don’t me wrong, I’m very grateful I had Newt as a friend for the past 6000 years but-”

“Nah I get what you’re saying,” Crowley faced him for a second longer before he looked ahead and exhaled slowly, “I suppose we’ve all been too selective in the romance department.” 

Aziraphale chuckled, “Well you and Anathema had the actual guts to travel through so many worlds,” He commented, admiration loud and clear as he faced Crowley, “Me and Newt well….we were just content being friends and not worrying about romance. At least I was with that part. To tell you the truth you were the first one I ever developed a desire to want more than a mere friends with benefits agreement.” He smiled and Crowley could swear the sun had gotten a little brighter just then. 

“Oh….wait hold on a bleeding second, you were in a friends with benefits thing with Newt?” Crowley felt surprised at this. His serpentine eyes blow wide open, clearly he didn’t realize he might’ve misheard. Newt didn’t exactly seem like the kind of guy - being to be pedantic here - to confidently enact such a thing with someone. Sometimes Crowley even wondered how he survived being a demon with how much of a nervous wreck he can be. 

Aziraphale shook his head lightly, another chuckle at the thought, “Oh no my dear. That was with Oscar Wilde.”

_____________________

  
_This was the void between universes. An endless expanse of corridors that spread out infinitely in all directions. The only thing to break up the insanity was the sight of many, many doors equally spaced apart in neat rows that would never reach an endpoint. Or mostly since there was an intersection every so often. And the doors were connected to a wall, hence the more infinitely large office vibe - a mundane, boring one at that - rather than a huge field._

_And as weird as it was, there didn’t seem to be any ceilings. Just nothing but white, white and more white with only increments of colors that dotted the landscape. Shaped in a way to make this all one big maze._

_Another thing to note here given the nature of the place, it was near impossible to run into another traveler between worlds. The possibility of it was so atomically small that they had more of a chance of stepping into several worlds in conjuncture where angels and demons don’t exist._

_Well, it was like what they say in most of the places they’ve gone too: there is a first time for everything. Which is why after a few minutes - hours? - days? - who knows. Time had no meaning here. A world could be created and destroyed in the time it takes them to get from one intersection to the next for all they knew. Any sign of a new universe would be denoted by the appearance of a new door slotted in between two others._

_(It was long ago theorized by her and Crowley that there was an equal amount of worlds where either one was human as there are where they weren’t humans or both were. Made sense really, they just didn’t think about it too much for fear of any headache. They weren’t really the type to spend too long philosophizing about it anyways._

_Unless they were three sheets to the wind.)_

_Crowley sat between Anathema and another version of him that they’ve just met not more than a moment ago. It was the two or three beer bottles that were littered around this one hallway that tipped off their curiosity rader. No one other than a supernatural entity should be able to get in here._

_(Well ok a human could get in here if they came from a world advanced enough or they had some kind of power over time. It would be remiss of them to not take that possibility into account.)_

_Not a whole lot was said for now after they finished with the obligatory pleasantries and introductions. Turned out the other Crowley was yet another version of him. Thankfully it was already easy to tell the two apart since one had dark hair and that he didn’t care if they called him Anthony. Made things simpler which was always good._

_There was also the melancholy and respondent air that surrounded him, which gave him an urge to make some slight snarky comment about it if he was honest with himself. But this was essentially him they were talking too so as quickly as it came, the urge tapered out into nothingness. Because see, even though this was a version of him, he’d learned quickly that he can’t just assume that a counterpart would react the same way to a comment said in jest as he would._

_(And thank Someone he realized that before he up and accidentally offended some Truly Evil version of him.)_

_“...and then of course those imbeciles had to go and fucking exile me and Constantine to whatever the bloody hell is this…” Anthony explained as he half assedly gestured to the corridor around them._

_Crowley raised an eyebrow, a part of him expected to hear the name Aziraphale. That was supposed to be the one main common factor right? Whenever there is a Crowley, there is an Aziraphale and yadda yah,“Constantine?”_

_Anthony rolled his eyes and sighed as if he’d been given one of the dumbest questions he had the misfortune of answering, “My boyfriend. I figure a counterpart of mine would be faster on the uptake,” It could’ve been filled with the full condescending tone that would be expected of such a quip. But in reality the neutral, disinterested tone - and the fact that Anthony was mildly tipsy - lessen the edge to the point where there wasn’t any point to get offended over. No need to push back with the same force behind his remark as Anthony’s did with his._

_Still, being a member of the Crowley club, he can’t back down from a deservedly verbal - at least to him it was - comeback. Crowley faced him, “Oi, I can’t keep up with all the bloody different people we date-err-other versions of us date,” He leaned back against the wall._

_There was a pause of silence as Anthony took a swig from the wine bottle. He looked rightfully apologetically, “I should probably lay off now, I’m sounding like my old self again.” He placed the wine bottle down on the floor beside him._

_“What do you mean?” Anathema asked, always curious about how each Crowley - at least the ones that weren’t blatantly a twisted version of what a Crowley is at their core - differed in ways._

_Anthony faced her, his voice matter of fact and tinged with more than a little regret, “What I mean is I’m the fucking reason I can never be with Aziraphale. I..I pushed him away,” His trail of thought faded out as he looked ahead with a regrettable, forlorn look in his eyes. When he spoke next, his voice was more pained than he probably meant it to be, “He deserves Anathema more than he deserves me.”_

_“If I may ask, what did you do? In all the places we’ve gone too there has been a Crowley and an Aziraphale in love in some form or another.“_

_Anthony scoffed and spoke ruefully, “Lucky bastards.”_

_Crowley snapped into his hand what was essentially a duplicate of the wine bottle Anthony had. He took a swig and offered it to Anathema who took it. He said, “I wasn’t one of those lucky bastards so join the club. He didn’t even exist at all where we came from.”_

_“Oh that’s..err..I can’t completely fathom a reality like that,” Anthony admitted, sincerely surprised._

_Crowley nodded, “I knew I was missing something like a part of me had been missing for most of my existence. Someone rather, just didn’t know whom specifically at first.” A comfortable enough silence filled the air as Anthony politely listened without any sign he was about to make a patent Crowley remark, “Funnily enough a fictionalized novel about the shit with the Apocalypse gave me more of a concrete idea.”_

_“Hmm interesting.”_

_“It was.”_

_Anthony casually pointed to Anathema as he looked between the two before he faced the Anathema, “So you said Aziraphale doesn’t exist in your world, I assume you’re his angelic counterpart then. The Anathema I knew was a human.”_

_Anathema nodded, “We both ran into more human versions of me than angel so we theorize I’m the closest to an anomaly you can get.”_

_Anthony resumed his position and aimlessly looked at a door across from him. There wasn’t really anything interesting about it, just brown, the drabbest boring shade of beige anyone could ever think off_

_“Do they all marry an Aziraphale?” Anthony asked as he stared ahead, a sad resignation filled every inch of his weary face. He didn’t notice two pairs of eyes suddenly honing on him. He can, however, feel them watching him, a desire to hear more information following the implication of a world where Anathema and Aziraphale fall in love._

_(And enough apparently to get happily married.)_

_Crowley let out some vague semblance of words at first, “I, err no. Not the ones we’ve been to at any rate. Is that what happened in your world?”_

_“Yes,” Anthony took another welcomed swig from the wine bottle, “Aziraphale deserves her more than me frankly. Showed him the kindness and respect he deserved, something I will always regret not doing.”_

__

_“Well I...well beings like us aren’t exempt from making mistakes,” Crowley said for lack of any better words, his voice faltered as he was unsure of the right thing to say exactly. What does he say with something like this where he hadn’t the privilege of knowing an Aziraphale for a very long time. Perhaps a Crowley who was lucky enough to know one for thousands and thousands of years would be better._

_Crowley continued, “No matter how much the wankers upstairs like to think the contrary.”_

_“That’s true I can attest to that. Full of self righteous idiots,” Anathema commented, casual but to the point. How can her lot go and justify something like the Great Flood and the murder of all those innocents just to teach a lesson. And then put up a rainbow as a promise to not do it again. As if that would make up for the unjust punishment that the Almighty would no doubt say otherwise._

_“Hell isn’t anything better. I mean they aren’t self righteous tossers but they are narrow minded idiots,” Anthony started to share, “They exiled me and Constantine to this space between worlds bullshit all because I dared to be in a bloody relationship with a human.”_

_“Oh,” Was all Crowley could say._

_“And now I can’t find him!” Anthony threw up his hands in exasperation, “I tried for G-Someone knows how long!”_

_“We can help you search for him,” Anathema offered with a friendly smile. Anthony looked at her for a second before he scoffed._

_“It’ll be near impossible. Do you two know how fucking big this place is? Infinitely big they said. One has to be a brainless dolt to actually believe otherwise. Only silver lining is that Hell is dumb enough to not think of cutting out the middleman and send us both to separate worlds.”_

_Anathema just beamed brighter as she moved to get up. As per the usual with her, she chose to ignore any and all insults from any counterpart of Crowley, “Oh I can think of a way that’ll quickly locate him. Then all we have to do is teleport to him. I’m very good with all types of supernatural magic.”_

_“Only angel I know that calls herself a Witch,” Crowley added with a casual smile on his face as he looked at his counterpart. Nothing really wrong here with feeling a justified sense of pride any accomplishment that goes against the grain of Heaven. Which he took care not to show too much of physically lest it ruins his - imagined as y’all can guess - cool and suave image._

_So here was the deal, Anathema had explained that it might take some time before she can locate the aura of the one soul human via her angelic senses. After all, this place has no endpoint. This wasn’t a planet where one end meets the other in a circle. And given they were in someplace infinite and daunting, there was the chance that they may have to teleport to areas in hopes of being closer in range. To put it in layman’s terms its the difference between locating someone in a modest house vs a large country._

_Hence around 30 minutes have passed and Anathema still hasn't stirred from her spot in the middle of the corridor not too far away. But Anathema believed she could do it and so did Crowley. She was always up to a good challenge._

_Meanwhile the two demons stood and leaned against a spot between two doors. And since the two basically had the same template that made a Crowley, the two had their hands in their pockets and one feet up against the wall. As if they were in some unspoken contest to out cool the other, never mind that they are in an area where the only other occupants are Anathema and Anthony’s wayward boyfriend._

__

_“So uhh...I don’t think you really answered it but how’d you screw it up with your Aziraphale?” Crowley asked point blank. He could leave it alone but this is Crowley we’re talking about. The original purveyor of knowledge. The Serpent of Eden. The reason why the first two humans were banished into the unknown._   
  
_“Why the hell do you want to know so bad?” Anthony shot him an annoyed glared. Crowley only shrugged and plowed forward with the self confidence level that allowed him to demand answers to satiate his curiosity._

_That and he wasn’t afraid of a - relatively benign as far as demons go - version of himself._

_“Because, and this is barring me of course, most of our versions know how to woo the special angel in our lives. We want to keep Aziraphale as happy as he can, dote on him with kisses and whatever Hallmark sentimental crap he wants. Even if the circumstances are right and truly fucked,” Crowley explained._

_Crowley continued after he allowed a moment of silence to pass by, “Only two theories I can think of in your case is you’re either a very twisted version of me - which I don’t believe you are otherwise we’ll be burning this place up - or you’ve said the wrong thing over and over for however long you’ve known your Aziraphale.”_

_A pensive silence fell over them for a good long few seconds before Anthony leaned his head back, closed his eyes and let out a put upon groan. He looked upwards as if to question the Universe for the current card that had been dealt with._

_After another moment he sighed as he looked over at Crowley, “Certainly not the first theory you mentioned. I….look-” Anthony began as he exhaled, heavy regret evident in his voice, “I pushed him away because I knew he would leave me when everything goes pear shaped. Always known that would be the case ever since shortly after I’ve met. He’s-he’s naive and too much of a goody two shoes to be of any useful help. And I was right wasn’t I? I was unequivocally right”_

_“I can’t really say for sure if you’re right or not, never met him,” Crowley replied, “But I’m willing to bet he was useful in his own way. They alway are...you were just-_

_“Too much of a blind wanker to see it, I get it,” Anthony interrupted with a weary, slightly broken tone, “And come Armeggeddon I turned into an even bigger wanker than any versions of us have a right to be. I’ve said things to him I’ll eternally regret.”_

_Crowley felt a swell of sudden trepidation. There was a moment when he nervously stammered, “Uhh err...let’s say most. You’ll be the first that actually sounds genuinely sorry.”_

_There was an annoyed self-deprecated huff, “I doubt any of them told him he didn’t deserve to live.”_

_It took a moment but the gears clicked in place in Crowley’s mind, “Hold on, you said that?!” Crowley suddenly got back on his feet to twirl around to face him. His voice raised up in pitch as he was surprised by the confession. Not fazed mind you, he had met some truly vile versions of himself. But out of the ones that weren’t, well you can’t scold him for feeling shocked enough at this, “You bloody told him he didn’t deserve to live? Whatever for? No wonder he went into your Anathema’s arms.”_

_“Because it was the heat of the moment,” Anthony said, snappish and defensively as he faced Crowley all the same, “Don’t fucking act like you haven’t said things you don’t really mean. Especially when Hell is riding so far up your ass that all you can think about every second is the dire consequences should you fail.”_

_“Oh I’m not, definitely not. I’ve said plenty of things I wish I can take back-”_

_The conversation would’ve gone on longer had it not been for Anathema who stood up and interrupted them. She finally had a lead on Constantine’s location, “I got him boys, follow me!”_

_Anathema started to take the lead and run down a hallway to the left. The two demons followed suit down several hallways until Anathema stopped. It was abrupt enough that Crowley and Anthony almost plowed into her. There, down the hallway was the figure they were looking for. A short dark hair man with his hands in his pockets stopped as if he was in disbelief of what he saw in front of him._

_If it was then it passed just as quickly, he broke into a happy smile and ran towards Anthony. Arms wide open and it was clear the endgame was a hug. Said demon immediately put up his hands and waved them in front of him in a vain attempt to stop was about to come but alas he was hugged._

_Anthony groaned and titled his head up - may or may not be overly dramatic - while Anathema quietly giggles to herself, “What have I’ve said about hugging.”_

_“Oh sorry, sorry but you know you really can’t really blame me,” Constantine began as he loosen his hold around Anthony, concern laced his voice “I nearly thought I was going to have a lot of damn time to myself,” He said before he noticed the other two, a pleasantly surprised look crossed his face, “Oh hello, I didn’t think there’ll be other people here.”_

_“We didn’t either before we ran into him,” Crowley pointed to Anthony, This sounds weird I know but err, I’m another version of him.”_

_“So Crowley then?” Constantine posited the question. Well it was more of a statement but after half a minute, his only reaction was to put his hands back in his pockets._

_Crowley noticed for a human, he seemed to be taking this multiverse shit well enough. But then again his boyfriend is a demon so he probably used to things that humans don’t really have full understanding of by now._

_Anathema held out a hand to shake , “And I’m Anathema,” She smiled and noticed that due to his rolled up sleeves, there were two tattoos on his arms. One appeared to be Crowley’s name and the other was that of a snake that coiled up around his arm and disappeared underneath the left sleeve, “Nice tattoos.”_

_Constantine glanced at the ink then looked at her with a friendly smile, “Thanks. Take it, it's your first time here too? Still surreal as fuck this place to be honest.”_

_Crowley crossed his arms nonchalantly, “No, we’ve been through here many, many times. You’ll get used to it. The hard part is not knowing if the world behind any of these doors won’t be royally fucked in some way that matters. There’s no bloody preview of any kind, no warning if Hell or Heaven won or if demons enslaved the angels or vice versa etcetera, etcetera.”_

_“Well, what world would you recommend us go then?” Constanstine asked._

_“All we want is just to be left alone,” Anthony added as concise as a version of him can be. All topped with the classic hiss interspersed throughout, “No demons or angels after our asses, no bloody Armageddon-”_

_Crowley nodded, he very much understood that. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone, “Right gotcha, I can think of two worlds off the top of my head. Maybe three, but that’s in the far, far future. New tech, new slang...could be overwhelming at first.”_

_“That sounds cool actually,” Constantine’s face perked up, intrigued, “And we’ll have all the time in the world to get used to it,” He gestured at Anthony, “He made me immortal through a deal.”_

_“Oh a blood deal, that’s smart. The other best option I can think of is outside of a world where demons and angels don’t exist,” Crowley looked at his phone for a brief moment before back at Anthony, “Is a world where our counterpart goes by Rampa.”_

_Anthony stared blankly in understandable confusion, “Why Rampa?”_

_Crowley shrugged, “Don’t really know, he said it was Crowley in French. I guess he wanted to sound pretentious. But anyways doesn’t matter, what matters is, in his world you are guaranteed an eternity of nothing from Heaven nor Hell.”_

_“You guaranteed?” Anthony scoffed, a little skeptical of the claim._

_Crowley tensed and stammered, probably not the best idea to sound even a little over confident with his claims with another that was him really, “Uhh err well...mostly. A thousand years or two.”_

_“Hmm, I’ll take it,” Anthony said and looked at Constantine who nodded in agreement._

_Soon after, they said their goodbyes. Anthony and Constatine held hands as they walked down the hallway they were in. Crowley had given Anthony a list of some worlds to avoid and worlds they could safely go to without worry of shit descending upon them. As well of course the address to the world they’ve chosen to go to._

_Right now it was just Crowley and Anathema in the hallway, a minute or so passed with both of them unsure of what to do next. Walk around or just head straight into one of the nearby doors._

_“So um, you can pick which world we go to next.” Crowley said, the silence finally broken after he gave a quick look around._

_“Sure,” Anathema smiled before she walked to the door on their left._


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to include the image at the end of this chapter like an idiot in the last chapter, apologies!

Aziraphale beamed, “That was so lovely of you both to help that other counterpart of yours.”

Crowley of course played it off as no big deal. Waving his hand dismissively as he shrugged, “Eh it was no big deal angel. Still can’t believe he had the gall to tell his Aziraphale that he was so stupid to even live though. Like rude much...” Crowley said, his voice rose ever so slightly like he was about to go on a tirade. Instead he just leaned back and his voice went back to normal levels.

The demon continued, the slightly pissed expression was replaced by self-awareness. He crossed his arms, “But I can’t really say too much.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Crowley blushed, embarrassed once more by a cringey memory, “I might’ve asked Anathema ‘how she can be so clever and yet so stupid’ at one point.”

______________________

  
_There was a flaming sword, a sword that for all the major similarities they have, each version was different in one way or another. Whether it be the decoration of the hilt, the type of blade used or the length of it. It was always interesting to note differences whenever she got the chance to look at her counterpart’s sword._

_Such as the one that was currently in her hands. As with every other sword she saw, there was something to admire about. The blade was long, thin and the hilt was more plain than in other worlds. A dark brown grip with a golden pommel._

_“This looks very nice,” She commented with a friendly smile, “Nice to see a sword that isn’t overly decorated. Simple and yet still practical.”_

_Aziraphale chuckled abashedly and dismissed it, “Oh I do thank you, but it’s really nothing, not like the swords and staff the Archangels have._

_“Sure, but you can just as easily defend an enemy with a minimalist style sword. Especially if it’s a flaming one.” Anathema pointed out._

_“True. Oh if it’s alright, may i see your flaming sword?” Aziraphale asked, an innocent smile full of curiosity._

_“Oh I’m sorry, could’ve sworn I had it with me when me and my Crowley left but,” Anathema sighed apologetically, “Lost it a few worlds in.”_

_“Oh my, well you’re definitely my counterpart then,” Aziraphale said with a knowing laugh._

_Anathema chuckled lightly before it faded into a smile. She snapped and a small knife appeared from the ethereal plane into her hand. It didn’t really look like one that was made for fighting but rather for cutting up food, “I do a blessed bread knife. Quite useful and nobody really sees it coming.”_

_Aziraphale took it from her hands to gain a closer look. There wasn’t too much to note aside from the Divine power that permeated the every inch of it. What looked to be a simple, mundane kitchen tool was turned into a deadly weapon for demons._

_“I know anything blessed can be made into a Holy weapon but it’s still impressive nonetheless,” Aziraphale complimented._

_If there were any other words that the blond was about to say, it was abruptly squashed out of existence by the sudden harsh ringing from the door._

_“You!” The voice shrieked as the source quickly stomped into view in front of the two angels. Instincts took over and both immediately pointed their weapons towards the unwanted demon. One that was annoyingly familiar to Anathema; tall, black-eyed, blond hair that no one will dare suggest it was a wig if they valued their life._

_All full of demonic fueled rage, Hastur pointed a finger in Anathema’s direction, “Where’s Crowley?! I’m not done with him yet for his little stunt! Do you know how many bloody worlds I had to go to track and his little angel friend down?” He ranted, his face contorted into an angry mess of humanoid and amphibian aspects._

_Anathema stood her ground as if she’d been through this before - spoiler alert she had. Mostly with other versions of Hastur - while Aziraphale looked all the more perplexed. Well that and affronted at the belligerent way he barged into his bookshop._

_Anathema demanded, “Well you’re gonna have to wait a little longer Hastur. And what the hell makes you think I’m gonna tell you where he went?”_

_“W-wait Hastur?! But wouldn’t that be impossible?” Aziraphale exclaimed, perplexed. He looked at Hastur in all of his demonic brute self then at Anathema with wide-eyed confusion, “My Crowley killed him with holy water a few decades ago.”_

_Anathema made sure not to let her gaze waver from the demon in front. The sword in her hand firmly grip. It would also be flaming now if it weren’t for the fact that she was inside and surrounded by precious, flammable items._

_“Your version of Hastur. This one is from my world.” She calmly said._

_Aziraphale blanched as a sudden realization hit him, “Oh...oh dear that does rather make sense,” He said embarrassedly and returned his gaze back onto Hastur. The knife was still pointed in his direction, “Apologies my dear.”_

_“Don’t worry about it. It can be confusing.”_

_Hastur scowled, “What the bloody hell are you two bloody angels talking about? I’m obviously alive and right here!”_

_“Your counterpart. Surely you must of ran into other versions of you if you’ve been following me and Crowley,” Anathema deadpanned as she rolled her eyes, “Or was it just dumb luck that this is the first world you’ve been too.”_

_Hastur growled, the Duke of Hell took a step closer, “Just tell me where Crowley is and maybe, just maybe I won’t burn this stupid, insidious place up! Can’t guarantee it of course.”_

_Before anything else can happen, the door opened yet again. The two Crowleys - one was noticeably shorter and had short dark hair - had come back from their little mischief making. Just as quickly as Hastur came in, the redhead Crowley and his counterpart had taken one arm each and restrained them behind his back. Anathema still had the sword pointed at Hastur, intending to help keep him at bay._

_“Aziraphale get the salt,” Instructed the one in the cheap sunglasses that the taller Crowley won’t be caught dead in. The taller one just focused all of his attention in keeping a vice like grip on Hastur’s right arm._

_“On it,” Aziraphale nodded and immediately dashed over to his desk, set down the knife and grabbed the salt from the top drawer that had eventually been designated as a sort of place for various odds and ends._

_“You bloody low ranked demon,” Hastur yelled straight at Crowley - the red haired one mind you - as he struggled. Crowley just rolled his eyes, even if no one could see due to his - cooler - sunglasses._

_“Yeah, yeah save it. What the hell are you doing here?”_

_“Revenge Crowley, revenge,” Hastur got up closer to his face as he spat out his answer. Crowley slightly recoiled at some of the spit that landed on his face. It would’ve been more dramatic but Crowley didn’t want to lose control, “I have sworn to myself after learning you and Nat over there left our world, to tear up whatever damn world I land in until I have avenged Ligur’s death.”_

_As soon as the crude but practical circle was made, Crowley and his counterpart swiftly pushed Hastur into the circle. The blond demon stumbled and crashed into the invisible barrier on the opposite side._

_There was a moment of silence as Hastur turned around and finally took good notice of the four other beings in the room. Two angels, two demons, two of them he doesn’t really recognize. Confused, the duke glared angrily at the dark haired demon._

_“Who the hell are you?” Hastur demanded as he walked across two short paces to the other side. Thankfully the salt worked its magic._

_“Anthony J. Crowley at your service,” The shorter Crowley answered matter of factly. Complete with a sarcastic bow._

_Hastur took a moment to take in this information, his mind trying to make good sense of it. He growled in frustration, “So another bloody counterpart?”_

_Crowley - the ginger one - crossed his arms and quipped, “Oh look at that, I’m actually surprised you’re quick on the uptake this time. Impressive coming from an unimaginative half-wit like you. How many worlds did it take for you to realize you kept getting the wrong version of me?”_

_Hastur growled, “Shut up! You can’t keep me contained here forever Crowley, once I get out I am going to destroy you limb from limb for what you did, you traitor!”_

_“You and Ligur broke into my damn flat, what the fuck else did you think was gonna happen?”_

_“You killed Ligur?” The dark haired Crowley pondered as he suddenly turned to face the other._

_There was an unexpected vibe in the air that veered into awkward territory. Crowley looked at him just as confused, “Hastur and Ligur didn’t break into your wanting to ‘talk to you’?”_

_“Oh that happened, but it was Hastur that got holy water dumped on him.”_

_Hastur stared at the shorter Crowley for half a minute before he declared with a finger pointed at him as if he just uncovered some great hidden revelation, “Traitor!”_

_Aziraphale muttered and rolled his eyes. Seemed to be a thing with Hastur to not be the sharpest pencil in the drawer, “Oh lord.”_

_“It’s par the course with any version of Hastur. Mostly.” Anathema whispered. She still gripped her counterpart’s sword but it was down to her side in one hand by now._

_The taller Crowley took a moment long to speak. A plan was already hatching in his mind, a way that would satisfy both parties. He certainly wanted everyone to come out on the other side of this unscathed and it all hinged on his - admittedly not hundred percent sure - assumption._

_“Hastur you want revenge right? You want to avenge his death, make me rue the day for killing Ligur blah blah blah etcetera. Which, may I add, I was just protecting myself, isn’t that what a demon supposed to do anyways? I thought it was every demon for himself, but that’s not the point. Point is...you care about him a lot. You two were the most inseparable demons I’ve ever had the displeasure of knowing. You love him Duke Hastur.”_

_Hastur stared at him in utter, almost comically, confused disbelief. His scandalized expression would’ve been convincing if it weren’t for the bright red blush that covered his cheeks._

_“What!?”_

_Crowley reiterated with a smirk, “You love him.”_

_“What does that have to do with anything?”_

_“Well did you just hear what my counterpart said? You know what that means do you? Oh…no wait of course you won’t, my bad sorry,” Crowley deadpanned, “Your counterpart has been destroyed here which means Ligur is alive and well,” Crowley explained right before he realized he wasn’t sure if that was exactly true. He turned around to the shorter Crowley with a pleaded look in his eyes, “Please tell me I guessed right.”_

_The other Crowley nodded, “He is. I honestly forgot I had trapped Ligur in the tape in my answering machine for a good couple days. After that, me and Aziraphale hatched a plan to send him back to Hell. I released him by calling myself and Aziraphale discorporated him.”_

_The taller Crowley let out a breath of relief as Hastur impulsively shrieked and pointed a finger towards the shorter Crowley, “Murderer! Traitor!”_

_“You certainly as belligerent and temperamental as the Hastur I knew,” The shorter Crowley rolled his eyes, “Quite shouty, annoying too. I wager any version of you is not too bloody different.” He quipped, “Frankly I’m surprised you’re the one to survive in your world.”_

_Hastur’s facial expression, by now, has become so consternated that a mild headache was starting to form. This did not bode well to the hope that the Duke of Hell will calm down, but to everyone else here there was no real optimism that he would. It was just the way it is with Hastur._

_“Shut up, you’re still a traitor. You killed a fellow demon,” Hastur spat. His mind still didn’t wrap completely around that it was a version of himself. The shorter Crowley just simply stood unfazed and cool. Or as much as he allowed himself to look on the outside. Inside, he was getting annoyed and had the increased desire to roll his eyes every so often._

_(He went ahead and made one or two eye rolls behind his sunglasses anyways.)_

_“I was protecting myself, it’s the same damn reason he killed his Ligur in his world!” The shorter Crowley pointed to the taller one behind him a few steps away. He took a calming breath, he wanted to steer the direction of this conversation back on track, it was dangerously close to going further off track, “Look, in case you still haven’t made the connection...in this world, Ligur is very much alive, all what happened to him was discorporation.”_

_“I can indeed attest to the validity of that fact,” Aziraphale said with a satisfied smile._

_Crowley walked a couple or so steps closer to Hastur, “See?! Ligur is alive which means you can call off your little quest.”_

_There was a tense minute full of pensiveness as Hastur stared at him. He shifted his gaze between him and his dark haired counterpart, one can almost see the gears inside his head slowly turning._

_“How’d I know you’re not lying?”_

_“I can take you to him in Hell,” The shorter Crowley quickly replied, “I have a general idea of where he might be.”_

_A few seconds passed before Hastur settled on an answer. He let out a sharp sign and sent a warning glare at the two of them. He pointed a stern finger at both of them, “You better not be lying and you both are coming with me.”_

_The taller Crowley let out a petulant groan as he looked up to the ceiling for a second then back down, “Fine.”_

_After Anathema had come out and scraped some of the salt away with her shoe, the two Crowleys and Hastur had descended downwards into Hell. Now Hastur and the red haired Crowley would have made an educated guess as to where each dark, damp and musty corridor led too, but it was quickly apparent the layout was different enough. Hence why, in no time at all, the two taller demons followed behind the shorter one._

_They all just stayed quiet as they made their ways through the many dimmed hallways. Any other demons they passed made no moves to interact and any sound that sounded like surprise at the sight of an alive Hastur well, they weren’t going to dare stop a short tempered Duke of Hell._

_“Ligur’s office should be down here,” The shorter Crowley said as he led them into a gratefully empty hallway. He stopped in front of a door and banged on the door._

_A few seconds later the door opened to reveal the curly haired Duke. He first took notice of Crowley at front and his face hardened and eyes narrowed,” Crowley what the fucking hell are you doing here? I thought we had an agreed-” The angry words and exasperated look suddenly died out when he took sight of Hastur. The expression on his face changed to that of shock and confusion at seeing the blonder demon, “What in Satan’s actual name...”_

_“Ligur!” Hastur beamed and immediately rushed forward to throw his arms around him in a bear hug. He about just lifted Ligur off his feet with how enthusiastic Hastur was to see him very much not destroyed._

__

_Understandably Ligur was still confused as he looked at the other two for any sort of explanation. After an awkward moment to be had with said hug, Ligur pulled away from Hastur’s hold. He ushered them all quickly into his office lest any other demon, especially Dagon and Beezlebub, should suddenly spot them. He closed the door, took a deep breath then turned around. His eyes flickered between all three, still confused as ever._

_Ligur finally spoke after another moment had passed, his eyes locked, “I think an explanation is in order. Not that I’m not happy to see Hastur, but last I checked he was reduced to a puddle and disintegrated into nothingness thanks to a certain traitor.” He finished the sentence with a locked gaze at the shorter Crowley who had his hands up in defensive mode._

_The taller Crowley piped up as he took a step forward, which abruptly shifted Ligur’s gaze to him, “I can explain. Me and Hastur came from another world-”_

_“He destroyed you!” Hastur interjected on impulse as he angrily pointed at Crowley._

_Crowley rolled his eyes at the outburst, “A version of you,” He quickly amended Hastur’s statement. He really didn’t want to confuse Ligur anymore than is needed, “I destroyed a counterpart of you,” He clarified, his hands in front of him._

_Ligur looked between all of them again as another few moments of silence passed. There was still palpable anxiety and tense anticipation over how the shorter Duke of Hell might react on the two Crowley’s part. Luckily for them Ligur had appeared to be in a calm enough mood, they didn’t want to deal with two very temperamental demons. Not that Ligur wasn’t temperamental, but compared to Hastur, he tended to keep a calmer head._

_(At least, from what the red haired Crowley knew of the one from his world.)_

_“And you and Hastur came from another universe?” Ligur asked the taller Crowley._

_“Yep, he followed me.”_

_“I see,” There was a moment spared in order for the - not destroyed - Duke to contemplate on what to do. He eventually took a deep sign, “Alright I’ll take care of Hastur and everything down here,” He looked squarely at the Crowley he knew the most, “You and your counterpart here go on and get out of here before I report to Beezlebub. Technically you broke the agreement...” He pointed out, “But I understand this is extenuating circumstances.”_

_“What’s this...umm, agreement?” The red haired Crowley asked just after he and the shorter Crowley left the office._

_“Hell won’t bother me as long as I never set foot down here again. Greatest thing to ever happen to me to be honest. I rather be on Earth with Aziraphale then doing shit for these dimwitted idiots,” The shorter one replied as they rounded the corner into a connecting hallway. There was a half a minute where there wasn’t any sound between them aside from their shoes, “I’m just curious, did you and Nat have a trial?”_

_“Sounds like the best deal any version of us can get, and no, we fucked off as soon as we got back to her place.”_

__


	6. Chapter 6

Seasons pass and time change, forever sending the world into an uncertain future. It has now been seven years since Crowley decided to settle down in this world for good. Two since he moved in with Aziraphale into a cottage in the South Downs.

It was a perfect day, a rare day full of warmth and bright blue skies. It was just right for what Aziraphale had planned. He walked through the backyard to where Crowley was tending to a new row of flowers he had just planted. He felt nervous, he grasped the little box that he held behind his back tighter. There were so many different ways this can go horribly wrong. And that wasn’t even accounting the fact that Crowley was from another universe. 

What if they had different ways of proposing? He wanted to respect the ways of his world and try to incorporate a little of it with what he knew. Or at least what he knew for the country they made their home bases in. Crowley and Nat were based in America in their world, while here, Aziraphale and Newt settled down in England. It wasn’t too hard to go from there, both countries were part of the Western world thus easy enough to figure something out.

But still, what if the way to propose in Crowley’s homeworld was widely different? Like giving them an...an apple or something other than a ring to signify they were taken. He can feel an increase of butterflies in his stomach, as if he didn’t have enough of them metaphorically flying around. 

He can do this. He can do the simple act of asking the one being he wanted to spend eternity with to marry him.

“Oh hey Aziraphale,” Crowley broke the silence as he got up from his knees. He brushed the dirt off of his jeans before he stood to his full height with full attention.” 

“Hello, I do hope I’m not bothering you right now-” Aziraphale stammered out.

“Nah I’m about done anyways. You’ll be happy to know none of the plants here need another one of my...err as you would call it, punishment sessions. They’ve been listening well lately.”

Aziraphale allowed himself to feel a little more relaxed, nice to know he wasn’t being a complete bother at the moment, “I am quite happy to hear that, though I do wish you would be gentler on the poor dears.”

“If I do that angel, the whole bloody yard would be a jungle before we know it.”

Aziraphale rolled his eyes and lightly shook his head with a smile, “Well somehow I doubt that would be the case. But I didn’t come out there to scold you on your plant skills. I err-had a question.”

“Yeah?”

Aziraphale took a big breath to calm his nerves down before he began. He also brought the unassuming white box out to the forefront, “Well you see I was wondering if you were um...to be ever so inclined to do me the honor of marrying me dear Crowley?” At this, he opened the top of the box to reveal the most exquisite dark silver wedding band. And all around the middle was a snake design, show with glimmering onyx and ruby.

Crowley stared at the ring, the only noises he could make since his brain shut down at that very moment were incoherent and hard to decipher. 

Aziraphale felt a swell of panic and awkwardness the more seconds had passed. A thin expression of confidence gave way to that of great worry and anxiety, “Oh dear me I’m terribly sorry, I err thought I had everything right...oh dear. I admit I really don’t know if they do things differently in your world and-and dear Anathema only told me the way to propose was basically the same idea as I wanted to do. Which is just I did and-” 

Aziraphale would’ve nervously let more words tumble out of his mouth but it was swiftly cut off by Crowley grabbing his wrist and pulling him into a sudden kiss. The motion scrambled the angel’s brain into a mix of pleasure, confusion and surprise. Felt like the only thing that held him squarely in place was Crowley’s arm around his back.

Crowley pulled away and gave him a big smile, “Course I’ll marry you my otherworldly angel.

  
Aziraphale couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh, “Otherworldly? That makes it sounds like I was born on, err...created rather on another planet.”

“Well technically you were, different universe too,” Crowley laughed with an affectionate smile.

Aziraphale paused for a moment then gave Crowley a smile of his own, “I suppose that is true in a way haha.”

The two stared at each other for a few seconds longer before they both kissed each other once more again. Each happy that they finally have a reason to look forward to eternity.


End file.
